Cigarette-making machines of the continuous-rod type

ABSTRACT

BETWEEN THE TRAILING END PORTION OF THE PLATE AND THE PERIPHERY THEREOF AND ADVANCES THE SAME INTO THE AIR STREAM AT THE INLET OF THE DUCT AT AN OBLIQUE ANGLE THERETO. BOTH THE PICKER WHEEL AND THE PROJECTING ROLLER ARE COVERED BY A SECOND PLATE LOCATED OPPOSITE THE CURVED PLATE, THEREBY FORMING A CHAMBER ENCLOSING THE SAME.   A CONTINUOUS-ROD CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINE OF THE TYPE IN WHICH TOBACCO IS CARRIED BY AN AIR STREAM TO A SUCTION CONVEYOR ON WHICH THE TOBACCO FILLER IS FORMED. THE AIR STREAM IS DIRECTED OBLIQUELY FROM ONE SIDE INTO THE INLET OF A DUCT LEADING TO THE CONVEYOR SO THAT THE AIR STREAM CHANGES DIRECTION AS IT ENTERS THE DUCT RESULTING IN A VELOCITY GRADIENT ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE AIR STREAM AS IT CHANGES DIRECTION. A STREAM OF TOBACCO IS PROJECTED OBLIQUELY INTO THE INLET AND THE AIR STREAM FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF SO THAT THE TOBACCO PARTICLES ARE FIRST SUBJECTED TO THE SIDE OF THE AIR STREAM HAVING THE GREATEST VELOCITY RESULTING IN IMPROVED DISPERSION OF THE TOBACCO PARTICLES IN THE AIR STREAM. THE TOBACCO STREAM IS FED INTO THE AIR STREAM FROM A HOPPER HAVING A CARDED DRUM AND A REFUSER ROLL ADJACENT THERETO, AND A PICKET WHEEL TO REMOVE TOBACCO FROM THE CARDED DRUM. THE PICKER IS PLACED ADJACENT TO A CURVED PLATE AND IS ARRANGED TO ADVANCE THE TOBACCO TO A PROJECTING ROLLER WHICH GRIPS THE TOBACCO

Feb. 13, 1973 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,7L6;062

CIGARI'TF'I'Y'P-MAKING MACHINES OF THE CONTINUOUS-ROD TYPE OriginalFiled April 12, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO R5 DMJWMS, 115mg. +2114Luau Warsaw, 001.5. Ghana '0 Umou ATTORNEYS Feb. 13, 1973 MQLINS ETAL3,7165062 CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES OF THE CONTINUOUS-ROD TYPE OriginalFiled April 12, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQQ l 54 aIIIIIIIII'IJJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 1 11/ I I [1 1 I I I I in.means, RA. Pmum '1- EM L RBI-E United States Patent 3,716,062CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES OF THE CONTINUOUS-ROD TYPE Desmond WalterMolins and Ronald Albert Ahern, London, England, and Francis AugusteMaurice Labbe, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, assignors to Molins Limited,London, England Continuation of application Ser. No. 770,905, Oct. 23,1968, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 447,368, Apr. 12,1965, both now abandoned. This application Oct. 16, 1970, Ser. No.81,567

Int. Cl. A24c 5/39 US. Cl. 131110 32 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Acontinuous-rod cigarette-making machine of the type in which tobacco iscarried by an air stream to a suction conveyor on which the tobaccofiller is formed. The air stream is directed obliquely from one sideinto the inlet of a duct leading to the conveyor so that the air streamchanges direction as it enters the duct resulting in a velocity gradientacross the width of the air stream as it changes direction. A stream oftobacco is projected obliquely into the inlet and the air stream fromthe opposite side thereof so that the tobacco particles are firstsubjected to the side of the air stream having the greatest velocityresulting in improved dispersion of the tobacco particles in the airstream. The tobacco stream is fed into the air stream from a hopperhaving a carded drum and a refuser roll adjacent thereto, and a pickerwheel to remove tobacco from the carded drum. The picker is placedadjacent to a curved plate and is arranged to advance the tobacco to aprojecting roller which grips the tobacco between the trailing endportion of the plate and the periphery thereof and advances the sameinto the air stream at the inlet of the duct at an oblique anglethereto. Both the picker wheel and the projecting roller are covered bya second plate located opposite the curved plate, thereby forming achamber enclosing the same.

This application is a continuation of our copending application Ser. No.770,905, filed Oct. 23, 1968 (now abandoned) which in turn is acontinuation of our copending application Ser. No. 447,368, filed Apr.12, 1965 (now abandoned).

This invention relates to continuous-rod cigarette-making machines, andmore particularly to such machines of the type in which a continuoustobacco filler is formed on a face of an air-pervious face, being heldto face suction applied through the conveyor.

In machines of the type above defined, as indeed in the long establishedshower type of machine, in which tobacco is allowed to fall in a showeron to an impervious conveyor, it is of the utmost importantce to securemaximum uniformity in the deposition of the tobacco on the conveyor.With this requirement in view, it has been found advantageous to arrangea duct with its outlet adjacent to the air-pervious conveyor, so thatsuction applied through the conveyor creates an air-stream through saidduct, and then delivers the tobacco to the inlet of the duct so that itis entrained by the air-stream. Such a machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,030,965 but while machines of the form described in detail in saidpatent have been found quite successful in commercial use, they haveproved somewhat expensive to construct.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous-rodcigarette-making machine of the type above defined, but permitting asomewhat simpler and hence less expensive construction.

According to the invention, we provide a continuousrod cigarette-makingmachine having an air-pervious conveyor, means for applying suction toone face of the conveyor, a tobacco duct having an outlet incommunication with the other face of the conveyor and an inlet spacedfrom said conveyor, and feed means for directing a stream of tobaccoparticles into said inlet so as to be entrained in a stream of airentering said duct for transport to said conveyor, in which said feedmeans is so arranged relative to said duct and to an air-guide memberassociated with said inlet that the tobacco stream enters said inletobliquely from one side while the air-stream enters said inlet obliquelyfrom the other side, the tobacco stream meeting the air-streamsubstantially transversely in a region where the air-stream is changingdirection ,so as to promote dispersion of the tobacco particles.

With such an arrangement, the air-stream is constrained to changedirection as it enters the inlet of the duct, and, therefore, the airvelocity will be different at different positions across the width ofthe inlet; in general, near the side from which the air enters thevelocity will tend to be low. The tobacco particles, entering from theother side of the inlet, will be entrained by the air-stream but theheavier particles will be least deflected and will reach the far side ofthe inlet without acquiring any substantial speed in the direction ofthe air stream. For the heaviest particles, e.g. pieces of tobacco stem,this 'will mean that they reach the far wall of the inlet, in the regionof lowest air velocity, and will not be entrained by the air stream, andsuch heaviest particles can very conveniently be caused to separate fromthe remainder of the tobacco particles by arranging that the duct isvertical, with the inlet at its lower end; pieces of stem and otherheavy particles then fall after reaching the far side of the inlet andcan be collected and removed at a level below said inlet.

We prefer to produce the air stream by applying suction to the outlet ofthe duct and in some circumstances a sufficient air stream may beproduced by the suction means associated with the conveyor. Usuallyhowever it is desirable to have a greater flow of air at the inlet thancan be achieved in this manner, and preferably we provide furthersuction means connected to one or more openings in the walls of the ductadjacent to the outlet thereof. Such further suction means, sometimestermed a supercharger, is particularly desirable (and usually essential)when the duct is vertical, with the inlet at its lower end, as theremust then be a sufficient air velocity in the duct to support the weightof the tobacco particles, i.e. the air must rise in the duct at avelocity greater than the terminal velocity of the particles whenallowed to fall under gravity. The one or more Openings being providedadjacent to the outlet of the duct, it can be arranged that the velocityof the particles is sufliciently high for them to reach the conveyorafter passing said one or more openings, even although the air velocityalone may not be sufiicient to maintain the particles entrained in theair stream once said one or more openings have been passed.

The duct may be of various forms but we prefer that the inlet be oflarger cross-sectional area than the outlet; in a preferred arrangementthe duct is of generally rectangular section throughout its length, thesmaller dimension of the rectangle decreasing from the inlet to a pointapproximately halfway along its length and the "cross-section thereafterbeing constant to a point adjacent the outlet, and the aforementionedsmaller dimension again increasing to a maximum and then againdecreasing until, at the outlet, said smaller dimension is approximatelyequal to thewidth of the conveyor. The configuration of the portion ofthe duct adjacent to the outlet, i.e. adjoining the conveyor, may be asset out in Us. Pat. No. 3,088,468 issued May 7, 1963.

The air-guide member associated with the inlet is preferably in the formof a further duct, also of rectangular cross-section. We also preferthat the cross-section of said further duct be substatnially uniformalong its length and approximately equal to the cross-section of theinlet of the tobacco duct. Preferably, such further duct has restrictormeans for adjustably restricting its cross-section at or adjacent to itsoutlet to permit a desired air velocity to be obtained at the inlet ofthe tobacco duct. Such restrictor means may be a pivotally mounted platewith a screw adjuster for setting said plate at a desired inclination.The inlet end of said further duct-i.e. the end remote from the inlet ofthe tobacco ductmay be flared. Where as is preferred the tobacco duct issubstantially vertical, with its inlet at its lower end, to promoteseparation of the heavier tobacco particles as previously set out, thefurther duct may be at an acute angle to the vertical and have its inletend so flared as to provide a downward-facing portion through whichseparated heavy particles may fall into a receiver and ahorizontally-facing portion through which air may enter. A gap ispreferably left between the adjoining ends of the tobacco duct and thefurther duct, substantially opposite the tobacco feed means, throughwhich gap air may enter to assist in producing desired patterns of airflow in the region of the inlet of the tobacco duct i.e. where the airstream and the stream of tobacco particles meet.

In order that the invention may be well understood, a preferredembodiment thereof will now be described in more detail, referring tothe accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows, in section and somewhat diagrammatically, the relevantparts of one form of continuousrod cigarette-making machine embodyingthe invention; the view shown is from one end of the machine, the frontof the machine being shown to the left;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a slightly modified form of machine; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in section taken along the lineIII-III of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the machine is viewed endwise, i.e. in suchmanner that the cigarette rod when formed will be travelling atright-angles to the plane of the drawing. The part of the machine whichis shown is that part, usually termed the hopper, which produces, from abulk supply of tobacco, a substantially uniform stream of tobacco on amoving conveyor belt, said stream constituting a tobacco fillersubstantially ready for compression into a tobacco rod which may bewrapped to form a cigarette rod from which lengths may then be cut atregular intervals to provide individual cigarettes.

Turning to the drawing, an outer hopper casing 1 (only part of which isshown) provides accommodation for a supply of tobacco in the region 2and thereabove. The bulk tobacco in part rests against two drums 3, 4,which are mounted close to one another on shafts 5, 6, respectively sothat their cardings almost touch and said shafts are both driven in thesame direction (anticlockwise as seen in the drawing). The upper, andsmaller, drum 3 is provided with a cleaner 7 also driven anticlockwiseso as to prevent tobacco being carried round by the carding of drum 3past a screening plate 8, said drum 3 serving to remove excess tobaccofrom the nearest part of drum 4 and return such excess to the maintobacco-containing region 2. The drum 4 carries tobacco in its cardingpast drum 3, which moves in opposition to drum 4 at the region where thetwo drums most closely adjoin one another, to a picker drum 9; as thecarding of drum 3 removes excess tobacco from the carding of drum 4 thelatter delivers tobacco to the picker drum 9 as a fairly uniform fleeceor carpet. The majority of the tobacco carried by drum 4 is removed bythe picker drum 9, but short particleshereafter merely termed shorts" asis conventional-remain in the, carding of drum 4 and are carried past amasking plate 10 to a shorts recirculation device 11 which is fullydescribed in Molins et al. US. application Ser. No. 388,212, filed Aug.7, 1964, now abandoned. Shorts also reach the device 11 from the rightvia a gap 31 between drum 4 and casing 1. A straight downward extension41 of the casing 1 together with a similar downward extension 42 ofmasking plate 10, forms a chute which leads into a funnel-shaped sheetmetal member 43. Below the funnel 43 is the recirculation device 11which comprises a block 44 which has a vertical passage 45. The centerportion of this passage is shaped to receive in a substantiallyair-sealing manner a rotatable non-return valve 46 which has two pockets47 extending longitudinally of itself. Below the valve 46 is a manifold48 which is open to the valve at its top. A pipe 49 extends upwards fromthe end of the manifold 48 and has also a horizontal portion 50 whichterminates in a nozzle 51 which is adjacent the drum 4. All shortsrecirculated by the device 11 are returned to the region 2 in such amanner that they are largely caught up in a rotating mass of tobaccoformed against the drums 3, 4 as indicated by the dashed circle 32. Thishas been found to achieve a worthwhile measure of uniformity in thedistribution of shorts in the cigarettes ultimately produced and hencehas a favorable influence on the uniformity of weight of individualcigarettes.

The picker drum 9 is carried on a shaft 12 which rotates clockwise andfeeds the tobacco taken from the drum 4 to a winnower drum 13, carriedby a shaft 14 which also rotates clockwise. Aroundpart of thecircumference of the winnower drum 13 is a concavelyformed plate 15having minimum working clearance from the outermost parts of thewinnower drum so that the tobacco fed to said winnower drum is firmlygripped between the drum 13- and plate 15 and is thrown out, in adirection determined by the configuration of plate 15, into the inlet 16of a tobacco duct 17. Said duct has a lower portion 18 of progressivelyupwardly decreasing width, and an upper portion 19 of generally uniformwidth, said upper portion however increasing progressively upwardly inwidth over a short length 20 just below its upper (outlet) end. At theextreme upper end 21 of said tobacco duct its width is again reduced,somewhat abruptly, to slightly less than the width of an air-perviousconveyor belt 22 which is driven in a direction normal to the plane ofthe drawing. Above said belt 22 is asuction box 23' connected to asuction pump (not shown).

In speaking of the width of the duct 17 and other parts it is intendedto refer to horizontal dimensions as seen on the drawing-the horizontaldimension of the duct 17 normal to the plane of the drawing is the sameat all levers. The duct 17 may be, and preferably is, inclined to thevertical when viewed in elevation from the front of the machine i.e.from the left as shown in the drawing but this fact is irrelevant toconsideration of the present invention. This inclination of duct 17, andthe configuration of its extreme upper end, have been discussed invarious prior specifications, notably US. application Ser. No. 388,212,filed Aug. 7, 1964, now abandoned, and Pat. No. 3,019,793 issued Feb. 6,1962.

Below the inlet 16 of duct 17 is an air guide duct 24 of rectangularcross-section having a width uniform over most of its length andapproximately equal to the width of inlet 16. The upper end of duct 24meets the end of the plate 15 and at the far side of the inlet 16,almost meets the wall of duct 17, a small gap 25 being left to serve asan air inlet. The remaining two walls 54 and 55 of duct 24 (parallel tothe plane of the drawing) are integral with the corresponding walls ofduct 17.

From the region of inlet 16, although ducts 17, 24 extend upwardly anddownwardly respectively, both said ducts are inclined from the vertical,so that their upper and lower ends, respectively, are both furtherforward than is the inlet .16.

At its lower end the duct 24 is flared, the rear wall of duct 24 curvingdownwardly and rearwardly to allow stem particles or the like fallingthrough duct 24 to reach a stern receiver '26 while the front wallthereof curves out to become horizontal and thus meet at right anglesthe top edge of a vertically-extending air inlet grille 27; the grille27 is integral with a horizontal air inlet grille 28 resting on the topedge of the front wall of the stem receiver 26.

The forward inclination of the duct 17 is wholly in its lower portion18, the upper portion 19 being vertical as viewed in the drawing.Towards the upper end of the upper portion 19, a grille 29 in the rearwall of the duct affords passage for air to a conduit 30 connected to asuction pump 40; this arrangement serves to allow greater volumes of airto be passed through duct 17 than can be satisfactorily passed throughthe air-pervious conveyor 22 (which latter necessarily affordsconsiderable restriction to air-flow as it must not allow tobaccoparticles to enter the suction box 23) as set out in detail in US. Pat.No. 3,019,793 issued Feb. 6, 1962.

In operation, air is drawn up duct 24 into duct 17 to the conveyor 22and suction box 23; below the level of grille 29, the volume of airpassing any point in a given time, and hence the air velocity, isincreased due to the additional air-fiow into conduit 30. Below grille29, the air-flow in duct 17 is sufficiently fast to convey tobaccoparticles upwardly, while above said grille 29 the air-flow may not befast enough to continue the conveyance of tobacco particles indefinitelybut suffices to bring the particles to the belt 22 in view of theirconsiderable velocity immediately before reaching the grille 29.

As the air-stream in duct 24 passes into the inlet 16 of duct 17, itchanges direction due to the different inclinations of the two ducts,the air stream in duct 24 being directed towards the inlet of duct 18 atan angle oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the adjacentportion of duct 18; and tobacco particles projected into the inlet bythe winnower drum 13- enter the air stream transversely in the regionwhere it changes direction and are, therefore, somewhat disordered.Small, light tobacco particles having small momentum in the transversedirection are rapidly entrained by the air stream but heavier particlestake longer to change direction and therefore travel farther towards thefront of the duct 17 before being entrained. The heaviest particles,pieces of stem and the like, which it is desirable to separate from theremainder of the tobacco so that they do not travel up the duct 17 toform part of the filler collected on belt 22, travel across the inlet 16to the front wall of the duct 17 and then fall through duct 24 to thestem receiver 26. Such heaviest particles are able to fall thus, it isbelieved, because immediately above the gap 25 the air at the front ofthe inlet 16 is moving more slowly than in the more rearward areas ofsaid inlet, due both to the change in direction of the air-stream and tothe entry of air through the gap 25; in duct 24, the air velocity islower than the mean velocity of air in the inlet 16, because the entryof air through gap 25 means there is a smaller volume of air passingthrough duct 24 in any given time than passes inlet 16, hence the airvelocity in duct 24 is lower. Conveniently, the mean air velocity justabove gap 25 may be of the order of 11 feet/second.

The machine illustrated in FIG. 2 is in very many respects similar tothat of FIG. 1; where parts correspond with those of FIG. 1, the samereferences are applied thereto and where parts are similar and functionsimilarly to those of FIG. 1, the same numerical references are usedfollowed by a. The following description will be confined to those partsof the machine of FIG. 2 where there are differences to be explained.

Considering firstly the region immediately below the inlet 16a of thetobacco duct 170, it has been found that the velocity of air in thisregion is a critical factor in obtaining optimum performance. As variousfactors infiuence the air velocity, it is advantageous to provide somecontrol device and for this purpose we provide an adjustable plate 32which partially closes the upper end of the air guide duct 24a, leavinga relatively small opening 52 at the side of the duct adjoining theplate 15. The plate 32 is pivotally mounted at its upper end and held atan angle of inclination which is adjustable by a micrometer screw 53.

Below the plate 32, the configuration of the air guide duct 24a and stemreceiver 26a is somewhat simpler than that of corresponding parts of themachine of FIG. 1 but this has no noteworthy effect on operation. Agrille 27a, corresponding to grille 27 of FIG. 1 but slightly differentin form to conform to the altered configuration of the duct 24a, servesas the air inlet for duct 24a. Grille 27a provides suflicient inlet areato ensure that the velocity of air entering substantially transverselyof the duct 24a is low enough to have no substantial eifect on thedescent of pieces of stem or the like into receiver 26a. No additionalair inlet, corresponding to gap 25 of FIG. 1, is found to be necessaryin the machine of FIG. 2.

A further modification, as compared with the machine of FIG. 1, is foundin the parts of the machine concerned with shorts recirculation. Aproblem has been found to arise in that larger tobacco particles andforeign bodies may reach the shorts recirculation device which, beingonly intended to deal with true shorts i.e. very small tobaccoparticles, is readily clogged by larger particles. Accordingly, weprovide a grille 33 over the entry to the shorts recirculation device11a, the grille 33 being shaped to conform to the curvature of the lowercarded drum 4 as a continuation of the masking plate 10. Convenientlythe apertures in grille 33 have a maximum dimension of the order ofone-quarter of an inch, and the presence of said grille causes a largeproportion of any larger particle which may be brought to this part ofthe machine by the carding of drum 4 to be carried on around said drumand either return to the main tobacco-containing region 2 or travelfurther in the carding of drum 4 to be subjected again to the action ofcarded drum 3 and picker drum 9. The presence of grille 33 also tends topromote a smoother, more evenly distributed flow of shorts to therecirculation device 11a.

Furthermore, below the grille 33, a modified form of valve is employedin the inlet of the shorts recirculation device 11. In FIG. 1, a simpleform of valve is shown comprising a ciricular-section valve rotor 46revolving in a closely-fitting block 44, said rotor having twodiametrically opposed pockets or scallops 47. Such a valve has beenfound to be readily jammed and/or damaged if hard foreign bodies (e.g.nails) reach it. In the machine of FIG. 2, a valve 34 is provided whichhas a different form of rotor 35, comprising a hexagonal-section shaft36 carrying on each of its six faces a resilient blade 37 extending tothe casing in which the rotor runs; a particularly suitable material forthe blades 37 is nylon. With rotation of rotor 35 the blades are able todeflect if a hard object such as a nail reaches the valve and allow suchobject to pass between the blades 37 and the casing without jamming ordamage. This form of rotor also, for obvious reasons, gives a smootherflow of recirculated shorts.

It has been found of advantage to provide a degree of control of thequantity of tobacco in the region 2. For this purpose, we provide aphotocell 38 at a level corresponding to the maximum height of tobaccofound desirable. Such cell 38 will deliver an electrical signal wheneverthe tobacco rises so high as to produce a material reduction in theillumination of said photocell, and such signal is employed to reducethe rate of delivery of tobacco into the region 2 below the rate atwhich tobacco is being fed into duct 17a until a further signal from thephotocell 38 indicates that the tobacco level has fallen suitably.

Various changes or modifications may be made in the details of theapparatus described without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus for example a variety of arrangements of carded drums and pickerrollers may be employed to feed tobacco to the winnower drum 13.

We claim:

1. A device for continuously winnowing a stream of particulate materialof varying particle size and weight comprising means for producing anair stream having an air velocity gradient across the width thereof witha maximum velocity on one side and a minimum velocity on the oppositeside thereof and particulate feed means for projecting a stream ofparticles into and across said air stream from the maximum velocity sidetowards the minimum velocity side thereof whereby the particles aredispersed, the lighter and smaller particles being entrained in the airstream while the heavier and larger particles are projected across theair stream to the side having a minimum air velocity and are separatedfrom the lighter and smaller particles.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for directingsaid air stream in a generally upward direction whereby said lighter andsmaller particles are entrained in the ascending air stream and saidheavier and larger particles fall downwardly through the side of theascending air stream having a minimum velocity.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising air guiding meansfor directing said air stream along a path having an oblique angle toproduce said air velocity gradient.

4. A device for continuously winnowing a stream of particulate materialof varying particle size and weight comprising means for producing anair stream along a generally longitudinal axis, particulate feed meansfor projecting a stream of said particles across said air stream, andair guiding means for directing said air stream past said particulatefeed means at an angle oblique with respect to said longitudinal axiswhereby the air stream changes direction as it passes the particulatefeed means and follows the longitudinal axis creating an air velocitygradient transversely across the air stream with a maximum velocityadjacent the particulate feed means and a minimum velocity remote fromthe particulate feed means; and the tobacco particles are dispersed, thelighter and smaller particles being entrained in the air stream whilethe heavier and larger particles are projected across the air stream tothe side having a minimum air velocity and are separated from thelighter and smaller particles.

5. A device for continuously winnowing a stream of particulate materialof varying particle size and weight comprising an elongated duct, meansto produce an air stream through said duct, particulate feed meansadjacent one side of said duct for projecting a stream of said particlesinto and across the said duct, and air guiding means for directing saidair stream into said duct and past said particulate feed means at anangle oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the portion ofsaid duct adjacent to and beyond said inlet whereby the air streamchanges direction as it passes the particulate feed means and enters theduct creating an air velocity gradient across said duct with a maximumvelocity on the side of the duct adjacent the tobacco feed means and aminimum velocity on the opposite side thereof, and said stream oftobacco particles are projected in a direction across said air streamand are dispersed, the lighter and smaller particles being entrained inthe air stream while heavier and larger particles are projected acrossthe duct to the side having a minimum air velocity and are separatedfrom the lighter and smaller particles.

6. A device for dispersing particulate material of varying particle sizeand weight in an air stream and for separating therefrom particles abovea predetermined size and weight comprising an elongated duct having aninlet, means for drawing an air stream through said duct, air-guidemeans intersecting said duct from one side thereof for directing saidair stream towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the portion of said duct adjacent to and beyondsaid inlet whereby said air stream changes direction as it enters saidinlet creating an air velocity gradient across the width of said ductwith a minimum velocity on the side of said duct adjacent said air-guidemeans and a maximum velocity on the opposite side thereof, and feedmeans adjacent said duct substantially opposite from said air-guidemeans for projecting a stream of particulate material of varyingparticle size and weight towards said inlet at an angle oblique withrespect to the longitudinal axis of said duct, said stream ofparticulate material and said air stream intersecting each other withinsaid duct substantially transversely in the region where said air streamis changing direction whereby said particulate material is dispersed,the light and smaller particles being entrained in said air stream whileparticles too large and heavy for entrainment by said air stream areprojected across the duct to the side adjacent said air-guide meanshaving a minimum air velocity and are separated therefrom.

7. A method for continuously winnowing a stream of particulate materialof varying particle size and weight comprising producing an air streamhaving an air velocity gradient across the width thereof with a maximumvelocity on one side and a minimum velocity on the opposite side thereofand projecting a stream of said particles into and across said airstream from the maximum velocity side towards the minimum velocity sidethereof whereby the particles are dispersed, the lighter and smallerparticles being entrained in the air stream while the heavier and largerparticles are projected across the air stream to the side having aminimum air velocity and are separated from the lighter and smallerparticles.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 further comprising the step ofdirecting said air stream in a generally upward direction whereby saidlighter and smaller particles are entrained in the ascending air streamand said heavier and larger particles fall downwardly through the sideof the air stream having a minimum velocity.

9. A method for dispersing particulate material in an air stream and forseparating therefrom particles above a predetermined size and weightcomprising drawing an air stream through a duct having an inlet,directing said air stream towards said inlet from one side thereof at anangle oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the portion ofsaid duct adjacent to said inlet such that said air stream changesdirection as it enters said inlet creating an air velocity gradientacross the width of said duct with a minimum velocity on the side wheresaid air stream enters and a maximum velocity on the opposite sidethereof, and projecting a stream of particulate material of varyingparticle size and weight towards said inlet from the side opposite theentry of said air stream at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of said duct, said stream of particulate material andsaid air stream being directed towards each other such that saidparticulate material intersects said air stream transversely as said airstream is changing direction whereby the lighter and smaller particulatematerial is entrained in said air stream while particles above apredetermined size and weight are projected across said air stream tosaid one side where said air stream has a minimum air velocity and areseparated therefrom.

10. A continuous rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor having a face on which a continuous tobacco filler is formed,an elongated duct extending upwardly to said conveyor, means to producean air stream through said duct directed towards said conveyor, tobaccofeed means adjacent one side of the duct for projecting a stream oftobacco particles of varying particle size and weight into said duct,and air-guiding means for directing said air stream into the duct andpast said tobacco feed means at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the portion of said duct adjacent said air-guidingmeans, whereby the air stream changes direction as it passes the tobaccofeed means and enters the duct creating an/ air velocity gradient acrosssaid duct with a maximum velocity adjacent the tobacco feed means and aminimum velocity remote from the tobacco feed means, and said stream oftobacco particles is projected in a direction across said air stream andis dispersed, the lighter particles being entrained in the air streamwhile heavier particles are projected across the duct to the side havinga minimum air velocity and are separated from the lighter particles.

11. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor having a face on which a continuous tobacco filler is formed,an elongated duct having an inlet spaced from said conveyor and anoutlet adjacent to said face, means for applying suction through saidconveyor to produce an air stream through said duct towards said face,air-guide means extending from one side of said duct for directing saidair stream towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the portion of said duct adjacent to and beyondsaid inlet whereby said air stream changes direction as it enters saidinlet creating an air velocity gradient across the width of said ductwith a minimum velocity on the side of said duct adjacent said air-guidemeans and a maximum velocity on the opposite side thereof, and feedmeans adjacent said duct substantially opposite from said air-guidemeans for projecting a stream of tobacco particles of varying particlesize and weight towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect tothe longitudinal axis of said duct, said stream of tobacco particles andsaid air stream intersecting each other within said duct substantiallytransversely as said air stream is changing direction whereby saidtobacco particles are dispersed, the lighter and smaller particles beingentrained in said air stream while particles too large and heavy forentrainment by said air stream are projected across the duct to the sideadjacent said air-guide means having a minimum air velocity and areseparated therefrom.

12. In a continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising anair-pervious conveyor having a face on which a continuous tobacco filleris formed, an elongated duct having an inlet spaced from said conveyorand an outlet adjacent to said face, and means for applying suctionthrough said conveyor to produce an air stream through said duct towardssaid face, the improvement comprising means for dispersing tobaccoparticles in said air stream and for separating particles above apredetermined size and weight therefrom, said means comprising air-guidemeans extending from one side of said duct for directing said air streamtowards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to the longitudinalaxis of the portion of said duct adjacent to and beyond said inletwhereby said air stream changes direction as it enters said inletcreating an air velocity gradient across the width of said duct with aminimum velocity on the side of said duct, adjacent said air-guide meansand a maximum velocity on the opposite side thereof, and feed meansadjacent said duct substantially opposite from said air-guide means forprojecting a stream of tobacco particles of varying particle size andweight towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of said duct, said stream of tobacco particles andsaid air stream intersecting each other within said duct substantiallytransversely in the region where the air stream is changing directionwhereby said tobacco particles are dispersed, the lighter and smallerparticles being entrained in said air stream while particles too largeand heavy for entrainment by said air stream are projected across theduct to the side adjacent said air-guide means having a minimum airvelocity and are separated therefrom.

13. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine com- 10 prising anair-pervious conveyor having a face on which a continuous tobacco filleris formed, means for applying suction through said conveyor to producean air stream directed towards said face, an elongated duct having aninlet spaced from said conveyor and an outlet adjacent to said facewhereby said air stream flows through said duct along a first pathsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, the inlet ofsaid duct being of larger cross-sectional area than the outlet thereof,air-guide means used for directing said air stream towards said inletalong a second path at an angle oblique with respect to said first pathwhereby an air velocity gradient is created across the width of saidduct as said air stream changes direction, and feed means angularlyspaced from said air-guide means about the periphery of said inlet forprojecting a stream of tobacco particles toward said inlet along a thirdpath at an angle oblique with respect to said first path, said secondand third paths being on substantially opposite sides of saidlongitudinal axis of said duct and first path, and said stream oftobacco particles and said air stream substantially transverselyintersection each other within said duct as said air stream is changingdirection whereby said tobacco particles are fed into the high velocityside of said air stream and are dispersed.

14. A machine as claimed in claim 13 in which the duct is of generallyrectangular cross-section throughout its length, the smaller dimensionof the rectangle decreasing from the inlet to a point approximatelyhalf-way along its length and the cross-section thereafter beingconstant to a point adjacent the outlet, and the aforementioned smallerdimension again increasing to a maximum and then decreasing until, atthe outlet, said smaller dimension is approximately equal to the widthof the con veyor.

15. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor having a face on which continuous tobacco filler is formed,means for applying suction to said conveyor to produce an air streamdirected towards said face, an elongated duct having an inlet spacedfrom said conveyor and an outlet adjacent to said face whereby said airstream flows through said duct, a further duct associated with the inletof said elongated duct for directing said air stream towards said inletat an angle oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis of the portionof said elongated duct adjacent to and beyond said inlet, thecross-section of said further duct being substantially uniform along itslength and substantially equal to the cross-section of the inlet of theelongated duct, and feed means angularly spaced from said further ductabout the periphery of said inlet for projecting a stream of tobaccoparticles towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to thelongitudinal axis of said elongated duct, said stream of tobaccoparticles and said air stream intersecting each other within saidelongated duct substantially transversely as said air-stream is changingdirection whereby said tobacco particles are dispersed.

16. A machine as claimed in claim 15 in which said further duct has aninlet spaced from said elongated duct and an outlet adjacent the inletof said elongated duct, is at an acute angle to the vertical, has itsinlet flared to provide a downward facing portion through which heavytobacco particles separated from said air stream may fall, includes areceiver in which said heavy tobacco particles are received, and ahorizontally-facing portion through which air may enter.

17. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor having a face on which a continuous tobacco filler is formed,means for applying suction through said conveyor to produce an airstream directed towards said face, an elongated duct having an inletspaced from said conveyor and an outlet adjacent to said face wherebysaid air stream flows through said duct, second suction means connectedto said duct adjacent the outlet thereof whereby said air stream isproduced by both said means for applying suction to said conveyor andsaid second suction means, air-guide means for directing said air streamtowards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect to the longitudinalaxis of said duct, and feed means angularly spaced from said air-guidemeans about the periphery of said inlet for projecting a stream oftobacco particles towards said inlet at an angle oblique with respect tothe longitudinal axis of said duct, said stream of tobacco particles andsaid air stream intersecting each other within said duct substantiallytransversely as said air stream is changing direction whereby saidtobacco particles are dispersed.

18. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor movable along a substantially horizontal path and having abottom face against which a continuous tobacco filler is formed, anelongated duct extending upwards to said conveyor with an inlet spacedfrom said conveyor, means to produce an airstream through said ductdirected towards said conveyor, said air stream producing meanscomprising first suction means for drawing air through said duct andair-pervious conveyor and a second suction means connected to said ductbetween said inlet and said conveyor, tobacco feed means adjacent oneside of the duct for projecting a stream of tobacco particles of varyingparticle size and weight into the inlet end of said duct, and means forreceiving heavy particles of tobacco which drop out of the inlet of theduct against the action of the air stream, said duct com prising anarrow upper section defined by substantially parallel walls leading tothe air-pervious conveyor for conducting air towards said conveyor at ahigh velocity, and a substantially wider lower section adjacent to saidtobacco feed means, defined by upwardly extending walls spaced apart,along a substantial part of the duct, by a distance considerably greaterthan the distance between the walls defining the upper section of theduct for conducting air towards said narrow upper section at a lowvelocity compared with the velocity in said upper section, whereby whensaid tobacco particles are projected into said wider lower section heavyparticles such as pieces of stem drop downwards against the flow of airat low velocity into said receiving means while the lighter particlesare entrained in said air stream and are carried upwardly into the highvelocity air stream in said upper section towards said conveyor.

19. A continuous-rod cigarette-making machine comprising an air-perviousconveyor movable along a subsubstantially horizontal path and having asbottom face against which a continuous tobacco filler is formed, anelongated duct extending upwards to said conveyor with an inlet spacedfrom said conveyor, means to produce an air stream through said ductdirected towards said conveyor, said air stream producing meanscomprising first suction means for drawing air through said duct andair-pervious conveyor and a second suction means connected to said ductbetween said inlet and said conveyor, tobacco feed means adjacent oneside of the duct for projecting a stream of tobacco particles of varyingparticle size and weight into the inlet end of said duct in a directioninclined from the vertical and towards the opposite side of said duct,and means for receiving heavy particles of tobacco which drop out of theinlet of the duct against the action of the air stream, said ductcomprising a narrow upper section defined by substantially parallelwalls leading to the air-pervious conveyor for conducting air towardssaid conveyor at a high velocity, and a substantially wider lowersection adjacent to said tobacco feed means, defined by upwardlyextending walls spaced apart, along a substantial part of the duct, by adistance considerably greater than the distance between the wallsdefining the upper section of the duct for conducting air towards saidnarrow upper section at a low velocity compared with the velocity insaid upper section, whereby when said tobacco particles are projectedinto said wider lower section heavy particles such as pieces of stemdrop downwards against the flow of air at low velocity into saidreceiving means while the lighter particles are entrained in said airstream and are carried upwardly into the high velocity air stream insaid upper section towards said conveyor, said tobacco feed meanscomprising a carded drum for feeding a carpet of tobacco in apredetermined direction, a picker roller situated adjacent to the cardeddrum at a position at which rotation of the carded drum moves the carpetof tobacco in a downward direction, a guide plate onto which the pickerroller transfers the tobacco from the drum, and a projector roller forprojecting the tobacco from the guide plate and into the inlet end ofsaid duct, said guide plate being concave whereby the tobacco firstpasses along the guide plate with a downward component of movement andis then deflected upwards by the concave shape of the guide plate.

20. A cigarette-making machine comprising a tobacco shower channel forreceiving tobacco and for conveying it in the form of a narrow streamtowards a garniture, a drum for feeding a carpet of tobacco towards saidshower channel; a stationary guide plate extending between said drum andsaid shower channel, said guide plate having a concave surface as seenin a section normal to the axis of the drum, rotary picker means forremoving the carpet of tobacco from the drum and projecting the tobaccoalong the surface of said guide plate so that the tobacco changesdirection as it moves along the concave surface of the guide plate froma leading portion toward a trailing portion of said guide plate; and aprojector roller located downstream of said rotary picker means andadjacent the surface of said guide plate for engaging tobacco betweensaid rotary picker means and the surface of said guide plate tomechanically project said tobacco from said plate in the direction ofsaid trailing portion of said plate and into one end of said showerchannel and towards the other end of the shower channel.

21. A continuous-rod cigarette making machine comprising:

(a) an air-pervious conveyor movable along a substantially horizontalpath and having a bottom face against which a continuous tobacco filleris formed,

(b) elongated duct means extending upwardly to said conveyor with aninlet spaced from said conveyor,

(c) the cross-sectional area of said inlet and the portion of said'ductmeans adjacent said inlet being substantially greater than thecross-sectional area of the portion of said duct means adjacent saidconveyor,

(d) means for projecting a stream of tobacco particles of varyingparticle size and weight through the inlet into the adjacent portion ofsaid duct means having a greater cross-sectional area, and

(e) means for producing an air stream directed through said inlet intosaid duct means toward said conveyor at a high volume flow rate,

(f) whereby a relatively low velocity section of the air stream ismaintained in the inlet and the portion of said duct means adjacent saidinlet and a relaatively high velocity section of the air stream ismaintained in the portion of said duct means adjacent said conveyor, andthe heavier and larger particles of the tobacco such as pieces of stemfall downwardly against the low velocity flow of air in the portion ofsaid duct means adjacent said inlet while the lighter and smallerparticles are entrained in said air stream and are carried upwardly intothe high velocity section of said air stream toward said conveyor.

22. A cigarette making machine as claimed in claim 21 further comprisingmeans for receiving said heavier and larger tobacco particles which fallthrough said inlet, the path of said heavier and larger particlesbetween said inlet and receiving means being unrestricted whereby anyair flow in said path is maintained at a relatively low velocity toprevent said heavier and larger particles from being entrained.

23. A device as claimed in claim 22 further comprising air-guide meansfor directing said air stream toward said inlet along the path of saidheavier and larger tobacco particles falling from said inlet towardssaid receiving means.

24. A device as claimed in claim 23 wherein said airguide meanscomprises a further duct, one end of which is spaced from the inlet ofsaid duct means, said further duct extending generally downwardlytherefrom towards said receiving means.

25. A device as claimed in claim 22 wherein said projecting means ispositioned outside the path between said inlet and said receiving meanswhereby air flow along the path of said heavier and larger tobaccoparticles remains unrestricted and at a relatively low velocity.

26. A continuous-rod cigarette making machine according to claim 18wherein said tobacco feed means comprises a guide plate, means fortransferring tobacco in a downward direction onto said guide plate, andmeans for projecting tobacco from the guide plate and into the inlet endof said duct, said guide plate being concave whereby the tobacco firstpasses along the guide plate with a downward component of movement, andthen is deflected upwardly by the concave shape of the plate.

27, A cigarette-making machine according to claim 20 wherein theclearance between the periphery of said projector roller and the concavesurface of said guide plate is such that said tobacco is gripped betweensaid projector roller and said concave surface of said guide platebefore said tobacco is projected into said shower channel.

28. A machine according to claim 18 in which the means for producing anair stream through the duct comprises a first section means for drawingair through and above the air-pervious conveyor and a second suctionmeans connected to the upper part of said elongated duct.

29. A cigarette making machine according to claim 20 further comprisinga second plate having a surface extending between said drum and saidshower channel adjacent 14 the side of said rotary picker means andprojector roller opposite said guide plate.

30. A cigarette making machine according to claim 29 wherein saidstationary guide plate and said second plate form a chamber havin atapered cross-section with said rotary picker means and said projectorroller contained therein.

31. A cigarette making machine according to claim 29 wherein saidsurface of said second plate is concave as seen in a section normal tothe axis of the drum.

32. A cigarette making machine according to claim 20 in which saidtrailing portion of the guide plate is curved, as seen in cross-sectionnormal to the axis of the drum, so as to form substantially part of acylinder having its axis coinciding with the axis of the projectorroller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,028,866 4/1962 Molins 131109 R651,374 6/1900 Ludington 131109 R U X 2,948,281 8/1960 DeVoto (it al.131-109 R X 3,019,793 2/1962 Labbe 131-84 B 3,030,965 4/1962 Labbe131110 X 3,034,514 5/1962 Pinkham 131-110 X 3,088,468 5/1963 Labbe131-110 X 3,092,117 6/1963 Labbe 131-84 BX FOREIGN PATENTS 218,64811/1958 Australia 13184 C 572,389 11/1958 Belgium 13184 B 683,400 3/1964Canada 131110 648,881 11/1962 Italy 131110 366,786 2/1963 Switzerland13184 B JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 13l84 B, 21 A

